ALBANY, N.Y. – The last time Steve Kariya wore a University of Maine hockey uniform, he was celebrating a national championship on the rink his brother, Paul, graced for nine years.

The first-team All-American led the Bears to the NCAA crown in 1998-99, Maine’s second and last national championship.

Maine beat New Hampshire 3-2 in overtime in the final at The Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, home of the Mighty Ducks.

These days, Kariya is playing for the American Hockey League’s Albany River Rats, the top minor league affiliate of the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.

Kariya attended Maine’s practice on Thursday.

“That [national championship] year is always fresh in your mind. There were such good memories there,” said Kariya. “There were such good people to play with and the coaching staff. It was probably the funnest year of hockey in my life.

“A lot of guys from that team are still my best friends. It doesn’t seem long ago at all but when you look out here and don’t recognize one guy on the team, it seems long ago. But it’s not.”

Kariya follows the team’s progress and said, “Hopefully, they’ll have a good shot this year to get back [to the Frozen Four].”

Kariya, who is in his fourth pro season, has had an injury-marred season for the River Rats, who fired former Maine assistant Red Gendron last month and replaced him with former Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils coach Robbie Ftorek.

“It’s been a rough year here. We’re in last place again, Red Gendron got fired and, personally, I’ve had a lot of injuries. I pulled my groin and missed training camp and the start of the year; I broke a rib and missed five weeks and I pulled my groin again and missed two to three weeks.” reported Kariya. “But I guess it happens to everyone at some point. I’m playing pretty well right now and I’m healthy.”

He said Gendron wasn’t at fault for their season.

“He did a good job. We were short in some personnel areas,” said Kariya.

He has had the opportunity to play against younger brother Marty, who graduated from Maine last year. Marty Kariya is playing for Bridgeport, which is coach by former Maine interim head coach Greg Cronin.

“We played them last Sunday and beat them 3-1. Coach Cronin wasn’t too happy after the game. I heard he sat on a chair and stared at his players,” chuckled Steve, who pointed out that Marty had beaten him 2-1 earlier this season.

“I think the grudge match is next weekend,” said Steve. “Marty had a good start. He’s on the third or fourth line. It’s been an adjustment for him. But I think he’s done pretty well and his team is the best team in our division. They’re having a little tough stretch right now. But Coach Cronin and the team have had a great year.”

Kariya, who signed as a free agent with Vancouver and played in the NHL for the Canucks before being traded to New Jersey last year, said he has played against several former Black Bear teammates and is looking forward to finishing the year with Ftorek.

“He’s a great coach. He’s got a little different style than Red. Ftorek has been a winner wherever he has gone and he’s committed to winning. He’s planning to be back next year,” said the 26-year-old Kariya.

He isn’t sure what he will be doing next year. His contract is up after this season and said “I’m sure I’ll talk to New Jersey. I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I want, I can become an unrestricted free agent in July.”

He said life in Albany is OK.

“I was hoping it would be warmer than Winnipeg but it’s been cold. We all live 20 minutes out of town near the practice facility. It’s pretty nice out there. I could be playing in a lot of worse places. I also could be playing in a lot of nicer places,” said Kariya.

He said the Pepsi Arena leaves a lot to be desired.

“The ice is terrible, they have bad glass. The ice is pretty chippy and it’s slow. It’s not a very friendly arena for skilled players. But it’s the same for both teams,” said Kariya.

‘Sports addict’

One of the Maine fans on hand is Jeff Head from Otis.

He has been to virtually all of the regionals since 1987 and to four Frozen Fours.

“I’m a sports addict. I went to my first game in 1987 and then I went to another, to another and I was hooked,” said Head, originally from Ellsworth.

He graduated from Western Michigan in 1971 and brought 15 people to the series Maine played at Western Michigan in 2001.

He said college hockey fans are “amazing and very competitive” and noted there are several who attend the Frozen Four every season regardless of whether their team is in it.

“I live for this. I can’t wait for the regionals. When the season is over, I can’t wait until it starts next season,” said Head, who often travels with Bangor’s Tom and Jody Steele.

He drove to the regional at the University of Michigan last year and to St. Paul two years ago. He flew to Anaheim for the Frozen Four in 1999.

Three league champs

The Eastern Regional boasts three league tournament champions in Maine (Hockey East), Ohio State (CCHA) and Harvard (ECAC). Wisconsin is the other club. The Badgers were eliminated by Alaska-Anchorage in their best-of-three first-round matchup.

“It’s a great field. You have the three champions in the four major conferences and Wisconsin may be the most talented team in the field,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead.

Wisconsin has the best NCAA Tournament record at 28-16-2 followed by Maine (23-15), Ohio State (2-3) and Harvard (14-26-1). The ties reflect consolation games.

Wisconsin leads with five NCAA championships, the last one coming in 1990. Maine has won two with the last one occurring in 1999; Harvard won its only NCAA title in 1989 and Ohio State has never claimed an NCAA championship.

Highest TV rating

Minnesota’s thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Maine in the 2002 NCAA championship game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., had the highest TV rating for a final of all time as an estimated 2,301,440 tuned in. The attendance of 19,237 also set a mark as did the total attendance for the Frozen Four of 57,966.